SUFFOLK - John Thomas "Tom" Cutchin, 87, entered his eternal rest July 23, 2010 after a 5-month struggle to recover from a broken hip. He was the last surviving member of a family that originated in Cradock, Va., having outlived mother, Alice and father, Raymond Cutchin; sister, Margaret Weldon; and brothers, the Rev. Jason Cutchin and Sidney (Nick) Cutchin. After graduating from Cradock High School, Tom met and married his lifelong love and companion, Jean Doris West, Oct. 24, 1942. Their life together was interrupted by the war in the Pacific in which Tom served on the battleship USS Colorado. After surviving many enemy kamikaze attacks from which his vessel narrowly escaped sinking, he returned from the war and received a B.A. in agricultural engineering at Clemson University in 1952. He returned to Virginia where he went into the emerging field of rural electrification with the Virginia Electric and Power Company (now Dominion Resources).
After rising to the position of regional manager, Tom retired from VEPCO after 33 years of service. He was a member of the Kiwanis club and the Lake Drummond Masonic Lodge, as a 50-year Masonic member. He was a past president of the Suffolk Shrine Club and received numerous civic rewards from his service to the community. Upon retirement, Tom dabbled with a number of jobs in the Suffolk school system, but his first love was always gardening. He always had a garden no matter where he lived and one of his prodigious tomato plants was even featured in The Northern Virginia Sun, when he had to tie it off to a second story bedroom window. He maintained massive gardens in Driver, Va., and in his backyard well into his 80s. Tom is survived by his wife of 67 years, Jean Doris Cutchin; children, John Jr. and Brenda Durham and husband Frankie; grandchildren, Robbie Belcher and wife Cathy, Troy Cutchin and wife Jennifer, Aaron Belcher, Jennifer Blanchette and husband Aaron, Meghan Durham-Colleran and husband Patrick; great-grandchildren, Mason, Cameron, and Lauren Cutchin and Adam Belcher; and sisters-in-law, Doris Cutchin and Ruth Cutchin. A funeral will be conducted Tuesday, July 27, at 1 p.m. in Baker-Foster Funeral Home, 5685 Lee Farm Lane, Suffolk, VA 23435 by the Rev. Gary Vaughan with burial in Meadowbrook Memorial Gardens. The family will receive friends at the funeral home one hour prior to the service. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the building fund of Nansemond River Baptist Church, 2896 Bridge Road, Suffolk. Condolences may be registered at www.bakerfoster.com.